Return To Britain
On 19 August 2006 it was reported in the British press that Shields would soon be allowed to return to Britain to serve the remainder of his sentence after part of the court-imposed £90,000 compensation had been paid to the victim, with the remainder to be transferred in future monthly installments. On 23 November 2006, Shields returned to the UK and was placed in HMP Hindley in Wigan. The Bulgarian authorities subsequently affirmed that the UK had the right to pardon Shields on 26 April 2008, however Shields was not pardoned by the UK authorities with Justice Minister Jack Straw refusing a pardon on the grounds that such an action was beyond his authority. This was challenged in the High Court by supporters of Shields, with the ruling on 17 December 2008 in which the court considered "that the Secretary of State does have a power under Article 12 of the Convention to consider at least granting pardon to Michael Shields". Straw has stated after the ruling that a lawyer will be appointed to see if any grounds for a pardon exist, and how a pardon would affect the legal rights and status of British prisoners abroad.
On 2 July 2009, Michael Shields had an appeal for a pardon provisionally refused by Justice Secretary Jack Straw.
A statement issued by the Ministry of Justice said:
"Following a detailed and careful consideration of all the relevant evidence the Justice Secretary Jack Straw has made a provisional decision that the application for a free pardon from Mr Michael Shields should be refused. Mr Straw has made his decision in accordance with the High Court judgment of 17 December 2008 which indicated that, in order to grant a free pardon, he would have to be satisfied that Mr Shields was morally and technically innocent."
Shield's legal team were given four weeks by the Ministry of Justice to present new evidence for consideration before a final decision is made.
As a result, the third Westminster Hall Adjournment Debate secured by Louise Ellman MP was held on 15 July 2009, which set out the great concern over the safety of the conviction and the technical framework within which Straw had refused the pardon. Straw subsequently met again with the Shields family on 28 August 2009 at Blackburn Town Hall.
Read more about this topic: Conviction Of Michael Shields
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